Grand Prix Lille 2012

Parker Perfect!

March 3-4, 2012

Grand Prix Lille 2012

Sometime on Saturday lunchtime, round two of GP Lille began. 1505 players could still win. Hundreds hadn't begun. Following his one bye, Richard Parker of England shuffled up his UB Zombies deck for the first time. He won, and won again. Now he was level with the best in the world, the Pros with their three byes. He kept on winning, and by the end of round 7 had locked up a spot on day two. Six players went undefeated on day one. Parker was one of them.

He came back on day two. He carried on winning, and winning, and winning. By the time thirty or so players were desperately scrabbling for places in the top 8, Parker was sitting comfortably ahead of the field at 14-0. Two Intentional Draws saw him into the top 8. Historically, trailblazers fare badly in top 8s. Whether it's simple misfortune, or the pressure of pacesetting, or just heaping expectations on themselves, history is littered with undefeated records that mean nothing when it really matters.

Parker beat RG Aggro in the quarter final. He did it again in the semi final. Only the excellent Simon Diaz with his Delver of Secrets deck stood in the path of the unbeaten Parker. In the end, he wasn't just unbeaten, he was unbeatable.

There were other stories too, of course. There always are. Standard proved to be a ton of fun and ultra-versatile, with enough archetypes running around the top tables to keep the most ardent deck tinkerer happy for weeks. RG Aggro bared its claws significantly, while the French Frites deck and UB Control mostly flattered to deceive down the stretch. In the end, though, it turned out that copying Geralf's Messenger with Phantasmal Image , and smashing face with Phyrexian Obliterator , was something nobody had an answer to - at least when it was Parker Perfect asking the questions.

Mythic (19)

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Quarterfinals - Richard Parker vs. Martin Zimmermann

by Frank Karsten

This Quarterfinals threw together Richard Parker from England, playing Blue-Black Zombies, and Martin Zimmermann from Germany, playing Red-Green Aggro. It is the first Grand Prix Top 8 for both of them. Parker is the sole undefeated player remaining in the tournament, as he racked up 13 straight match wins after his bye and subsequently ID'd into the Top 8. He is now turning his attention towards the trophy, but Zimmermann is standing in his way.

Although Zimmermann kept making Wolf tokens with Garruk Relentless , they did not provide a permanent answer to the recurring Gravecralwer. Zimmermann's next draw steps only provided him with lands that did not help him protect his life total against Zimmerman's onslaught of Geralf's Messenger s. A second Phantasmal Image from Zimmermann copied another Geralf's Messenger , and it was enough to convince Zimmermann to move on to the next game

It was now time to go for the bigger creatures. Zimmermann passed the turn without a play and flipped his Werewolf, turning it into a 4/4 (and turning Geralf's Messenger into a 4/3 while at it). Parker next ran out a 5/5 Phyrexian Obliterator .

As the game progressed, Zimmermann added Llanowar Elves to his board and flipped his Huntmaster of the Fells for an additional Wolf, while Liliana of the Veil and Fume Spitter from Parker only served to make the board state more complicated. This coverage reporter was impressed with the speed at which both players were navigating the packed battlefield, making plays at relatively fast speeds despite the large number of cards in play that were complicating combat.

The German could only trade Geists, but Parker's came back as a Phyrexian Obliterator . Unable to deal with two Phyrexian Obliterator s, Zimmermann extended his hand and wished his opponent good luck in the semifinals.

Richard Parker 2 – Martin Zimmermann 1

Richard Parker remains undefeated and advances to the semifinals!

Semifinals - Kristof Benaets vs. Richard Parker

by Rich Hagon

With both these players now qualified for the Pro Tour thanks to their quarter final victories, attention can turn to claiming a title and a slice of Magic history. For Kristof Benaets simply winning the GP would do that. For Parker, there's a little extra spice, since with only one bye he has reached the semi finals without dropping a single match, two late round Intentional Draws the only thing between him and perfection thus far.

It's an astonishing run, and it's clear that his UB Zombies deck has plety to do with it. Now Benaets must try to stop the shambling hordes with RG Aggro, a deck that Parker beat in the quarters. He also beat Benaets earlier in the day. Still, the perfect run has to come to an end sooner or later, right?

Game 1

Both players had turn one plays, with Benaets opening on Birds of Paradise after a mulligan to six, and Diregraf Ghoul for Parker. Green Sun's Zenith found another Birds for Benaets, with Parker content to bash for two, lay Swamp , and pass. Another Green Sun's Zenith from Benaets found Strangleroot Geist , and for someone with just one land in play he'd already done an awful lot. Birds, Zenith into Birds, Zenith into Strangleroot - seriously, who needs lands?

Kristof Benaets

Like Diregraf Ghoul , Parker's next creature arrived sideways, Geralf's Messenger dropping Benaets to 16. The Messenger got copied by Phyrexian Metamorph at the cost of two life to Benaets. He still had just one land, and Parker must have really been wishing those Birds could be sent packing. His team came in, with Benaets unsurprisingly blocking with Strangleroot Geist . Parker's Phantasmal Image copied Geralf's Messenger , and a second did exactly the same. In no time at all, Benaets was down to 6 and in a deep hole.

Game 2

The players were perfectly friendly towards each other, but there was a marked absence of banter between the two. Tiredness seemed sure to play a factor. As Parker had remarked earlier in the day, "I feel like I'm turning into a zombie more and more with each passing round". He certainly looked shattered - but it was nothing a burst of GP Championship-fuelled adrenaline wouldn't fix.

For almost the first time in the match, the pace slowed. This was a big moment for Benaets. He didn't like any of his possible blocking options. Whatever way you slice it, there was going to be carnage. Eventually Benaets put his Phyrexian Metamorph in the way, took five damage down to 5, and both players sacrificed five permanents. Back came Geralf's Messenger to send Benaets to just 3. He had eight permanents left, and five of them were heading for the graveyard. In the end he kept two land and a Birds of Paradise .

It didn't matter - Benaets saw the writing on the wall, and Parker was one match away from winning the Grand Prix without dropping a single match. Astonishing. Quite astonishing.

Kristof Benaets 0 - 2 Richard Parker

Semifinals - Tom Valkeneers vs. Simon Diaz

by Tobi Henke

"What did you play against in the quarterfinals?" Diaz asked. "U/W Delver" was the answer he really didn't want to hear as he was playing Delver, too, and said so.

"I'm playing B/W Tokens," Valkeneers told him. Diaz made a sad face. "I think I already lost then," he said.

But it was far from over for Diaz. He cast Sword of War and Peace , equipped his Geist of Saint Traft , and attacked with it. Valkeneers chump-blocked the Angel token, Diaz gained 1 life and went back to 3 ... which could have been 4, if he hadn't played Moorland Haunt before combat. He chided himself for his mistake, but Valkeneers's block may have been just as crucial—and just as wrong, as he soon figured out. Now, Valkeneers didn't have enough power anymore to kill Diaz on the backswing. His Blade Splicer traded with Snapcaster Mage (the first creature for Diaz's Moorland Haunt ) and Diaz fell back to 1. Valkeneers cast a second Doomed Traveler and passed the turn.

Things started with a mulligan to five for Valkeneers. "Well, what will people think if they read in the coverage that I kept a one-land hand?" Valkeneers wondered aloud. "They'll probably think you're a brave man," Diaz speculated.

Finals - Richard Parker vs. Simon Diaz

by Rich Hagon

You finish higher than 1503, or 1504. Those are the only possibilities left after 18 rounds of Grand Prix action here in Lille. 1505 players began, but there's only room at the summit for one. Will it be Simon Diaz, the Frenchman who has battled quietly and impressively with Delver all weekend? Or will it be Richard Parker, who hasn't lost a single match so far? 1503 or 1504 - there's a big difference.

Game 2

Both players kept seven. There was no Delver for Diaz, but there was turn one action for Parker with Diregraf Ghoul . The Delver arrived a turn late, but still arrived. Diregraf Ghoul began the beats, joined by Gravecrawler . The Delver failed to transform, so Diaz attacked for just one. A second Delver joined it, plus Runechanter's Pike . Four damage came in from Parker, with Mortarpod and another Gravecrawler joining the fray.

Once again Diaz missed on his Delver triggers. One Delver attacked Parker for one, leaving him at 18. Diaz passed, having equipped his other Delver. Nihil Spellbomb for Parker saw him follow up by killing the equipped Delver via Mortarpod . Vapor Snag from Diaz couldn't stop him falling to 10. Parker equipped a Gravecrawler , shot the other Delver, and ended the turn by popping the Nihil Spellbomb .

Both players now had two cards in hand, but Parker had so much on the board. Diaz simply passed the turn. Was Parker moments away from a flawless triumph? He attacked with Diregraf Ghoul , Gravecrawler , and Gravecrawler . Snapcaster Mage flashed out, with nothing in the graveyard for bonus fun and frolics. Parker, still with two cards, thought hard. He allowed the block, with four damage getting through. Diaz was at just 4. Nihil Spellbomb saw Diaz get a Moorland Haunt token.

The Top 5 cards of Grand Prix Lille 2012

The big story for me this weekend was Richard Parker going undefeated with his Blue-Black Zombie deck. Richard remarked that his deck played extremely smoothly and felt a lot like a classic Red Deck Wins deck. Geralf's Messenger was largely responsible for that. It is not only a cheap, aggressive creature, but it also functions as a burn spell that can sap away the opponent's last life points. And that's exactly what Black Deck Wins needs.

When New Phyrexia gave us Phyrexian Obliterator , many players rejoiced at the opportunity of playing Mono Black again, but it has taken quite a while for the card to find a viable home. With Dark Ascension making the Zombie deck a reality, it was time for Phyrexian Obliterator to shine.

Richard Parker has Obliteraring throughout the Top 8 on the back of his 5/5s, and the quadruple-black creature also formed a big part of Gabriel Nassif's Mono Black Zombies list. The existence of Phyrexian Obliterator as a card to be reckoned with also prompted various players to find creative and exiting answers: anyone who managed to cast Wrack with Madness on Phyrexian Obliterator this weekend will know what I am talking about.

A couple of weeks ago in Honolulu, the ChannelFireball team showed with their Wolf Run Ramp deck that the mythic werewolf would be a powerful force in Standard. While Grzegorz Kowalski made Top 8 here in Lille with a Wolf Run Ramp deck very similar to ChannelFireball's Pro Tour wining list, Lille also saw the rise of another Red/Green deck utilizing Huntmaster of the Fells .

Jonas Köstler, Martin Zimmermann, and Kristof Benaets all piloted Red/Green Aggro to the Top 8, and it will absolutely be a force to be reckoned with in the future. The fast pressure provided by Strangleroot Geist is one side of the deck, but Red/Green Aggro is not only about fast starts – the transforming mayhem provided by Huntmaster of the Fells allows the deck to dominate the board in the late game. I can't put it better than Semifinalist Kristof Benaets' answer to the question of what card won him most matches this weekend: " Huntmaster of the Fells , not close!"

Sword of Feast and Famine was a crucial element of the Caw-Blade decks from Standard a year ago, but it had fallen out of favor since; many players were favoring Sword of War and Peace instead in recent months. But with the metagame switching to Blue-Black control, Zombies, and Red-Green Aggro, protection from Black and Green has become a pivotal ability again.

Although no U/W Human deck ended up making the Top 8, U/W Humans was the most popular archetype here on Sunday in Lille, with Champion of the Parish being the signature card of the deck. In the current Standard format, it's hard to think of a more efficient one-drop than Champion of the Parish .